The name Michael Jordan is synonymous with fear. His opponents feared him, opposing fans were terrified of him, and even sometimes, his coaching staff and teammates were scared of making mistakes around him. One of Jordan's greatest gifts was the fear he struck into anyone who attempted to challenge his crown, automatically giving him a mental edge over others.
While Mike remains arguably the most intimidating player in NBA history even to this day, little do people know that the Chicago Bulls legend had fears of his own outside the hardwood. The biggest one happens to carry a golf club.
MJ fears Ian Poulter
Speaking with Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry when the duo caught at the 2021 Ryder Cup, MJ admitted to fearing a professional English golfer.
"I'm not scared of anybody but Ian Poulter. I used to go and watch him all the time. If I'm in any of his matches or walking down, he finds me after he makes a good putt, and it's like, 'Man, I didn't do anything. I like you. I support you.' I stay away from him when I'm walking. I won't go watch him," he said .
Perhaps the reason Mike was scared of Poulter was his unmatched mental toughness, which Jordan experienced firsthand at the 2012 Ryder Cup. Serving as an advisor for the U.S. team, Mike tried to get into Ian's head. Surprisingly, even the greatest basketball player ever couldn't crack his focus. As a result, Ian helped orchestrate the " Medinah Miracle ."
"I remember walking off the tee box at 13, looking over, and he kind of wagged his, I don't know if you can call it a finger, it looked like an arm, this big finger comes up, and he was wagging it at me, pulling a face as if to say, 'We've got you,'" Poulter recalled .
"I said, 'I'm gonna hole this putt.' He'd done that for so many years on a basketball court. He hit the shot time and time again. I said to myself, 'I'm not going to allow him to get in my space,'" he added.
Related: "Larry doesn't say a word for 18 holes" - Magic Johnson recalled when Larry Bird "had the best time by not talking" on golf course
Jordan's other fears
If you look at MJ's career objectively, you could make the case that internal fear drove his ascension into greatness. Often not publicized among elite athletes, but fear of unrealized potential or a deep fear of not being enough is the fuel they use to become obsessed with being the best.
While Jordan has never said this explicitly, you can never rule out deep-rooted fear or trauma in elite athletes as a factor in their rise to the upper echelon of their respective sports.
The Bulls icon did have one genuine fear he talked about openly, and that was the fear of water. Hydrophobia, as it's scientifically called, was the biggest fear MJ had in life, stemming from a childhood incident when he was seven years old when a close friend of his drowned in front of him.
That said, Mike never publicly admitted to being afraid of another athlete—even though Robert Horry claims otherwise . So Poulter must be "a bad man."
Related: Michael Jordan on why guys shouldn't be able to jump from high school to NBA: "Something is affected by leaving college early"
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